After surviving the 2008 global financial crisis as a banker, Shuja Qadir realised it was time to take control over his employment situation.
It also reawakened the entrepreneurship bug in him.
“The industry was collapsing around me and I was still a single guy then,” he says. “I thought this was the time.”
It was not until 2012 that he could quit his job and became a burger flipper.
As a private equity banker, he was used to allocating funds in the real estate, schools and food and beverage sector, which in itself was his smallest portfolio.
Dubai’s infrastructure, demography, awareness of different food concepts and sophisticated consumer base all encouraged him to set up his own burger joint in the city. He invested Dh1 million and with three people, including himself, set up Sheikh and Shake.
There was also a price gap in the market that the 34-year-old Pakistani American wanted to fill to thrive.
From budget fast food burger outlets run by multinational chains to expensive, gourmet outlets, Dubai has a range of burger shops and more are on the way.
But mid-range, affordable burgers in the Dh30 to Dh50 range was what Mr Qadir wanted to provide.
The new job is also proving to be a test for survival for small business as Dubai’s food and beverage segment is expected to grow more competitive.
To stand the test of time, he had chosen a location in Jumeirah Lakes Towers that three years ago was affordable to rent.
“The rents were lower and there was not much competition,” he says.
That year, more commercial, residential and hotel apartments came into the market. The master plan of the free zone community comprised 87 residential, office and mixed-use towers.
The community alone now features more than 200 restaurants, according to the restaurant information aggregators Zomato. Another 1,600 food and beverage outlets could open by 2019 in the UAE, and the sector will grow an average of 4 per cent annually over the next four years, according to a new report from the consultancy KPMG.
About 66 per cent people are estimated to eat dinner out at least once during the week, spending about Dh120 per person, it said. Among the outlets that are popular and expected to grow are casual dining restaurants, fast food and food courts.
“The market for burgers and pizzas is opening up, but you also hear of outlets closing,” Mr Qadir said.
He was wise with the rents. When he moved in, he was able to sign a three-year lease where rents increased 5 per cent a year. And this year it also rose by the same amount. Currently, he says he has rates 10 per cent below the market price.
During the past three years, sales at his outlet grew 30 per cent a year as more residents moved into the area and the number of home deliveries soared. During summer, around 80 per cent of sales are through home deliveries. Within three months of opening, the restaurant was generating enough cash to pay the recurring costs. It broke even in two years and 10 months.
Similar to most one-man start-ups, in the early days he had doubled up as a driver, delivery guy, accounts manager and storekeeper.
“I even put on a suit and a tie as if I was going for an interview and went round office buildings putting the menus door to door,” he said.
While the business is profitable, Mr Qadir is yet to replicate his banking salaries.
Started with seven employees, including himself, the business currently employs 15 people. The staff retention, he says, is nearly 100 per cent after three years, and he attributes it to the staff members’ sense of ownership to the start-up even if they are on salaries. “I poached them from restaurants I liked and those that I saw were busy,” he says.
The turnover last year was Dh1.5 million from one store and one kiosk.
With six types of burger meals and five more kinds of meals on the menu, he now wants to decrease the numbers to focus on the best-selling burgers and maximise profits.
The popular American chain Five Guys, which opened an outlet in The Dubai Mall in May, has just four burger items on its menu: hamburger and cheeseburger, and their junior versions.
Mr Qadir now wants to expand. Besides the JLT outlet, he has a mobile kiosk, sort of a pop-up store, in JLT park. After summer, he wants to open about four more pop-up stores in places such as Deira, Global Village and Motor City.
And he knows if he has to compete with the big chains, he cannot do it alone. He is looking for an investor who would put in Dh1m.
“The main test will be when we go from one branch to the second branch,” Mr Qadir says.
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